WILLIS — Just over a year after coaching the Willis Ladykats to a state-runner up finish in softball in Class 5A, Stephanie Shelly is stepping aside.

Shelly will remain as the Willis High School girls athletic coordinator and assist with volleyball and basketball. Her longtime assistant Lyndsey Lipscomb will take over the head coaching duties for softball.

Shelly announced her decision to the Ladykats on the first day of school last week.

“It was a lot harder than what I thought it would be,” Shelly said Tuesday evening. “There comes a point in time where you realize that it’s time to step back and let more younger, exuberant people take over.”

Lipscomb has been an assistant coach on Shelly’s staff the past five seasons.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Lipscomb said in a phone interview Tuesday evening. “Ever since I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to be a coach and follow the footsteps of my mom and dad. I always knew that this was what I wanted to do, and I’m just excited it worked out and Willis gave me that opportunity.”

Willis softball has been a program on the rise the past several years. After reaching the regional semifinals in 2015 — at the time the furthest postseason run in school history — the Ladykats made even more history with an appearance at the state tournament in Austin two years later.

“I enjoy it more now than I did then,” Shelly said of that peak experience of her coaching career. “I’ve never been about the wins and the losses. I couldn’t even tell you my record. It’s always been about the kids, the school, the relationships afterwards. I’m still good friends with a lot of kids I coached.”

This is Shelly’s 26th as an educator at Willis High School. She first started off as a volunteer on the softball coaching staff around 1992 before taking over the team. She left her head coaching job to spend more time with family in 2003 before returning in 2008.

Lipscomb comes from an extensive background in coaching.

Her mother Lynn Duyck recently started her 38th year at Garland High School where she currently coaches girls cross country and track and field. She won the 21st district title in her coaching career this past April.

Lipscomb’s father, Mark, also coached for 30 years. He coached football at Garland Lakeview Centennial and golf before retiring. Lipscomb also said her brother is a teacher and coach.

Lipscomb played high school softball at Garland and was on the state-runner up team her junior year before winning it all in Class 5A her senior year in 2006.

“That was the really cool thing about going to the state tournament (with Willis in 2017),” Lipscomb said. “I went there as a kid and got to play. And now I got to go there as a coach at that same level. That meant a whole lot to me.”

After high school, Lipscomb played two years at Vernon College and wrapped up her collegiate playing career at Texas Woman’s University in Denton.

After college, Lipscomb joined the Vernon College coaching staff with her former coach when she played there, John Blair.

“Coaching in college was awesome, and I really enjoyed it,” Lipscomb said. “But I always knew I wanted to be a high school coach. I grew up wanting that my entire life.”

Then it was on to Willis.

“Coaching was different (at Vernon College),” Lipscomb said. “You could do a little bit more. Here, I had to take a step back and realize these are high school kids. I would say the time period I worked with Shelly, it’s really showed me an even balance of being tough on the kids but love them harder. That’s one thing I’ve gotten better at probably in the last year or so is really taking that step back, breathing, and going on.”

The more experience Lipscomb got at Willis, the more enticed she became with other job openings in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a head coach.

Lipscomb would have loved to stay at Willis, she said, though she didn’t want Shelly to think she was coming for her job.

“I hoped for it because I feel like I’ve put in a lot of time and effort,” Lipscomb said. “I’m already in the program, and Willis has become home to me. But at the same time, I never wanted Shelly to feel like I wanted it so bad that I wanted her to leave. That was never the case. I loved coaching with her. It will definitely be different this year without her by my side.”

Said Shelly: “She has grown tremendously in the last several years. She’s ready. She will be fine.”

As the girls athletic coordinator, Shelly still will be able to show support for Lipscomb and the team, but from afar. Shelly said she will continue to support the Ladykats in any way she can, but doesn’t want to be a distraction or visible at games.

“This is her team, and I want it to be her team,” Shelly said.

Lipscomb looks up to Shelly for not only her coaching accomplishments, but for the human being she is.

“It amazes me every day the person that she is,” Lipscomb said. “She’ll do anything for those kids and for the coaches who work under her. You would never know she was our boss because she treats us all equal. She’s just a great person. She’s a great role model.”

Shelly plans to continue working at Willis High School as long as she gets enjoyment out of it.

“I love my co-workers, I love my job, I love the district,” Shelly said. “When it becomes a chore, that’s when I need to step away.”